Free Up Your Kitchen Space! 5 Of The Best Over-The-Range Microwave Reviews

Microwaves are one of the greatest inventions ever. They offer a myriad of cooking options and other things. It’s truly mind-blowing how you make a complete dinner in a microwave for less than 10 minutes!

However, if you have a small studio apartment or you just have too many appliances, it’s almost impossible to squeeze the humble microwave into the kitchen counter – hence, the creation of over-the-range microwaves. For that, we’ll be giving you the best over-the-range microwave reviews.

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Over-the-range microwaves or OTR microwaves are designed to be installed over a range or cooktop using a mounting hardware to utilize your kitchen space better, allowing the user to ensure that all key appliances are accessible and located in the central area.

Free Up Your Kitchen Space! 5 Of The Best Over-The-Range Microwave Reviews

OTR Microwave Pros and Cons

PROS

1. Space saver

The biggest advantage of an OTR Microwave is it helps keep space to a minimum, which is of significant advantage in small kitchens where it’s a painstaking task to fit all the appliances.

Instead of tucking everything on the counter, you can save space by installing the microwave at a convenient height.

2. May double as a range hood

Range hoods are meant to evacuate odor, smoke, and steam coming from the countertop to keep the air in the kitchen fresh and clean.

Since OTR microwaves have built-in fans, attaching it into the hood boosts the air filtration system, hence increasing its functionality.

Cons

1. OTR microwaves can look and feel awkward

Unless your wall cabinets are installed at a comfortable height, OTR microwaves may turn out to be awkward to look at when hung too low and almost impossible to use when they are installed too high, especially for short people or children.

Another installation height-related disadvantage of these ovens is the difficulty in observing cooking particularly when you need to insert pots into the microwave. You may need to peek in every few minutes by standing on a platform just to watch the cooking process.

Also, extra care is required when handling pots over the head to avoid burning the hands, spilling, or messing up the counter.

To solve this problem, assess your kitchen’s framework first – whether you have high ceilings or permanent fixtures, before deciding to purchase and install an OTR oven.

2. It’s imperative to duct the hood out

For the OTR microwave to work as a hood, you need to duct it out to the outside to exhaust the air rather than allowing it to recirculate inside. Until you connect the microwave outside for the fans to eliminate air, the hood will become useless.

Installing An OTR Microwave

Many countertop microwaves come equipped with kits which let you move them to a spot you like while others are designed solely for permanent installation.

If the one you’ve purchased doesn’t come with kits and instructions or you just want to move your good old typical microwave above the counter to expand kitchen space, you may very well install your own microwave hood with exhaust.

Watch and learn from the video below.

OTR Microwave Buying Guide

Since this particular microwave type is a little different from countertop models, we focus more on features these things have. That includes:

Size

Stove cooktops and ranges have different widths, the most common of which ranges from 30 to 36 inches. To know what OTR microwave size will best suit your cooktop, measure the dimensions of the range in your kitchen first.

We prefer models measuring 1.6 cubic feet or larger because they tend to be larger, allowing for more ambitious cooking styles. However, it requires a wider compartment size too.

Venting/exhaust fan options

It’s essential to choose a microwave that provides exhaust features if you do a lot of stovetop cooking.

Oven ranges typically come in two types -- one which uses a hood for exhaust and the other which typically has a built-in fan or connects to a fan system.

In our opinion, the best design can either be the hooded or built-in type and features both interior and external exhaust fans.

Furthermore, it’ll be great if the exhaust fans work with a couple of speed options to control the airflow inside and outside the kitchen.

Buttons

Most OTR microwaves in the market already possess one-touch buttons with express cooking options and time frames. These models are impressive and useful at the same time as it eliminates the need to constantly check your food through the glass window.

Nestled in the top spot of the best OTR microwaves is the GE JVM3160RFSS. This unique appliance saves valuable counter space as it’s easy to install and fits various ranges or cabinets.

This unit is spacious and features basic controls and functions that are easy to operate and are most commonly used -- no numerous buttons that you probably won’t need anyway.

For instance, it offers customizable controls for several cooking options for the convenience of the user, a plus/minus timer function for increasing/decreasing the length of cooking time with ease, an on/off turntable function for even heating, interior lights, and a 2-speed fan exhaust.

What we loved about this product is its simple electronic controls that include specialty options for popcorn, beverage, potato, reheat, defrost weight/time, and cook time options for custom use.

Furthermore, it has an automatic exhaust fan that you can manually turn, but you should be aware that if it detects heat from the stove underneath it, then it will stay on until it thinks that things have cooled down -- almost a deal breaker.

Our family is quite pleased with this oven. Though it lacks a sensor, it’s of no consequence to us because most sensors are inaccurate anyway.

Its controls are straightforward thus eliminating the need to read the manual. However, this unit runs noisily every time you put something inside it.

Pros

Excellent electronic controls

Has unique features (e.g. customizable controls, on/off turntable option, and control lock system)

Cons

This second placer is a predecessor of our first entry with regards to features and overall design. Hence, we don’t see the need to mention its specifics anymore.

The most striking feature of this humble microwave is its large interior space which is at 2.0 cubic feet. Generally, OTR microwaves feature 1.6 cubic meter interiors which are ample enough, but with an extra space, you definitely can make the grandest meals.

It may lack fancy sensors, but you surely won’t need these things when you’re a pro at microwaving, and you’re already know how long it’ll take to cook your food – one-touch controls are convenient enough.

We also loved how the buttons require only a light touch, how the unit runs smoothly and quietly and how it heats food evenly.

Moreover, we saw the Depot handyman mounting this unit, and we’re surprised that it only took about 10 minutes to secure the thing to the range – of course, this is not always the case since you have to consider the dimensions of your range and other factors.

However, we’ve heard reports of interior lights burning after several months of use and unstable stiff doors.

Pros

Excellent electronic controls

Has unique features (e.g. customizable controls, on/off turntable option, and control lock system)

Cons

Save space on the kitchen counter with this Sharp over-the-range microwave as it combines two important appliances in one – a convection oven and a microwave oven.

This terrific unit cooks, browns, bakes, broils, crisps, and roasts – you name it, this baby will get the job done!

This model also incorporates an interactive display, sensor settings, a variety of cooking programs to suit your needs, lighted interior, large turntable, built-in exhaust system using powerful fans, and low and high racks.

We loved how pretty easy this model can be installed using the user-friendly manual.

It is well-designed considering that it features two extractor inlets to handle the heat from the gas range very well and possesses a large ceramic turntable that is easy to clean and can be selected to "not rotate" which permits bigger dishes to be used as needed.

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Best of all, it has a "keep warm" feature that allows warming serving plates as well as keeping unserved food ready for seconds without the whole reheat cycle.

Moreover, the +30 sec button is a big time saver especially when you cannot estimate the cooking time, thereby preventing overcooking by adding short heat pulses.

One thing we wish was improved with this model is its interior space. It’s quite small at only 1.1 cubic feet. Nonetheless, the large turntable compensates for this as you can maximize the amount of food you can put into it.

Cons

This unique appliance saves valuable counter space as it provides a broad range of options for placement, works with standard cabinet sizes, and does not require a built-in kit or shelf, allowing for an easy installation.

Moreover, we loved how it uses a sensor that features 11 most-popular microwave food settings. No need to set times or power levels--eliminates guesswork!

Furthermore, it has an Auto-touch control panel that is easy to operate, an interactive trilingual cooking system, a keep warm setting and an automatic defrost center which automatically sets defrosting times and power levels for meats and poultry by weight.

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Let's not leave out our favorite, a special popcorn sensor that pops popcorn automatically regardless of package size or brand.

Need we say more? You can do almost everything with this thing! Most importantly, it was one of the few microwaves we could find that is designed to fit in a 24” cabinet. Others had "trim kits" for building them into cabinetry, but they all required 25+ inches of width.

The only problem with sensor-using appliances is they can be inaccurate at times; thus, we have observed that this particular microwave tends to overheat food slightly than those possessing manual control buttons.

Cons

Make popcorn, reheat pizza, thaw frozen meat and more using this G E over-the-range microwave which features a great one-touch setting for flexible operation.

Uniquely, this microwave has customizable defrosting and power level settings which are pre-programmed automatically but can be manually altered for optimal results – ideal for meticulous cooks!

You can also control the motion of the glass turntable inside for even heating-- this microwave is truly meant for home chefs who put precision over anything else.

Moreover, the cooktop light allows you to maintain a clear view of the stovetop below, plus its 2-speed venting system effectively removes smoke, steam, and odors that are produced while cooking on the range.

Overall, this is a basic and excellent quality OTC microwave. It’s beautiful, well-designed, easy to operate, durable, and runs quietly.

However, installation is a pain, and the door is a bit stiff, making it difficult to pull/push because you have to put in a little force which is a bit scary because doing so frequently may damage the appliance over time.

Pros

Excellent and versatile one-touch controls

Has unique features (e.g. customizable controls and on/off turntable option)

​Durable

​Has a 2-speed ventilation system

Cons

Quite hard to install

Has a stiff door

The Verdict

A good and reliable OTR microwave should be just the right size, easy to install, has excellent exhaust fans to help the range hood in eliminating odors and smoke, and easy to operate.

This great appliance saves valuable counter space as it’s easy to install and fits various ranges or cabinets. Moreover, it’s spacious and features basic controls and functions that are easy to operate, has a decent-sized glass turntable, and a 2-speed exhaust fan.

Hey, home chef! Are you now convinced of buying an OTR microwave? Do you think we missed some great stuff here in our review? Let us know below! And hey, don’t forget to share this post. Cheers!